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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The stock market has its worst day in years. Ominously, the currency also falls.

Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman, said Friday that Hegseth will participate in the 2025 Central American Security Conference. He said Hegseth will take part in meetings that «will drive ongoing efforts to strengthen our partnerships with Panama and other Central American nations toward our shared vision for a peaceful and secure Western Hemisphere.» He did not mention the canal, which was built by the US in the early 1900s as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts. Washington turned control over to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter. Trump has claimed that Carter «foolishly» gave the canal away. After Trump's threats, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate has agreed to sell its controlling stake in a subsidiary that operates ports near the Panama Canal to a consortium including BlackRock Inc., effectively putting the ports under American control. The deal will give the U.S. investment management company BlackRock Inc. control over 43 ports in 23 countries, including the ports of Balboa and Cristobal, located at either end of the Panama Canal. Other ports are in Mexico, the Netherlands, Egypt, Australia, Pakistan and elsewhere.

In a post shared on Truth Social and later reposted on X, Trump stated that “tremendous progress” has been made in negotiations but that more approvals are required before finalizing the agreement. “The deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days,” Trump said.

U.S. Senate began an overnight "vote-a-rama" marathon on Friday aimed at eventually handing Republican President Donald Trump sweeping legislation to extend tax cuts and achieve budget reductions in the face of staunch Democratic opposition. Republicans and Democrats were due to vote on dozens of amendments aimed at altering a budget framework for Trump's tax, border, immigration and military agenda, with a vote to pass the resolution expected in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday. Congress needs to pass the budget resolution to unlock a fast-track procedure to circumvent Democratic roadblocks and enact Trump's legislation in the months ahead. If the Senate approves the measure, it will move to the House of Representatives for consideration next week. Trump is pushing hard for Republicans, who narrowly control both chambers, to hand him what he calls «one big beautiful bill» that also would pay for additional resources for securing the U.S. border with Mexico, deporting immigrants and bolstering the military. Some Republicans said the path forward for Trump's agenda could be complicated by recession worries if financial markets continue to reel over the president's tariff policy.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. IF YOU failed to spot America being “looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far" or it being cruelly denied a “turn to prosper", then congratulations: you have a firmer grip on reality than the president of the United States. It’s hard to know which is more unsettling: that the leader of the free world could spout complete drivel about its most successful and admired economy.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. US President Donald Trump announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on nearly all US trade partners on Wednesday, including a 26% tariff on India. Meanwhile, the government offered another lifeline to debt-ridden Vodafone Idea by converting some of the company's dues into equity.

cut-off yield coming at 6.49%, in line with market levels, traders said. Falling US yields increased the appeal of Indian bonds, where yields of the 10-year benchmark closed at 6.46%, three basis points below its previous closing, CCIL data showed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday confirmed that the death toll from recent Russian strikes has reached 16 in Kryvyi Rih, including six children, while five others were killed in Kharkiv following a targeted drone attack. He further said that 34 people were also injured in the strike, which involved six «Shahed» drones. Sharing a post on X, Zelenskyy wrote, «Rescue operations are currently underway in Kryvyi Rih following a Russian missile strike. As of now, 16 people are confirmed dead, including six children. In Kharkiv, rescue efforts continued all day after a targeted Russian drone strike. A deliberate attack by six „Shahed“ drones. Sadly, five people were killed. Thirty-four were injured. My condolences to all the families and loved ones. In Kherson — another targeted strike by a Russian FPV drone hit an energy facility — the Kherson thermal power plant.» He further said, «These strikes cannot be accidental — the Russians know exactly what they're hitting. They know these are energy facilities that should be protected from attacks under what Russia itself promised to the American side. Every Russian promise ends with missiles or drones, bombs or artillery. Diplomacy means nothing to them.»

Indian equities were swamped by a wave of selling that swept riskier assets globally on Friday, tracking Wall Street's overnight slump-the worst since 2020-in response to US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff regime that has led to fears about a global downturn. NSE Nifty fell 1.5%, or 345.65 points, to finish at 22,904.45. BSE Sensex dropped 1.2%, or 930.67 points, to 75,364.69. The slump wiped out ₹10 lakh crore in market value Friday.

Indian rupee appreciated past the 85/$1 mark to touch a four-month high of 84.96, before closing at 85.23 on Friday, 20 paise stronger from its previous close of 85.43. The unit weakened in the latter half of the day due to corporate hedging demand and a slight uptick in the dollar index. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) likely absorbed dollars as the rupee appreciated past the 85/$1 mark, traders said.

tariff war between the US and China led to a sharp downturn. The Nifty Metal index plunged 6.6%-its worst day since the announcement of general election results in June 2024.

U.S. economy is heading into troubled waters. That’s the latest warning from J.P. Morgan, which on Friday forecasted a full-year contraction in gross domestic product for 2025 — the first major Wall Street institution to do so. “We now expect real GDP to contract under the weight of the tariffs, and for the full year (4Q/4Q) we now look for real GDP growth of -0.3 per cent, down from 1.3 per cent previously,” said Michael Feroli, the firm’s chief U.S. economist, in a note to clients, as reported by Bloomberg. Feroli anticipates a two-quarter recession in the second half of 2025, with GDP shrinking 1% in Q3 and 0.5% in Q4. The cause? A dramatic escalation in U.S. trade policy under President Trump.

Of the 12 aircraft sorties, nine crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's southwestern and eastern Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ). In a post on X, the MND wrote, «12 sorties of PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today.» It added, «9 out of 12 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly.»

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: In the immediate aftermath of the new US tariffs, India’s response has been twofold: to seek new opportunities in the changing world order, and re-evaluate its manufacturing strategy.

JPMorgan has raised its estimate of a US recession occurring before the end of the year. The bank now sees a 60% probability, up from its previous 40% estimate. The increase follows President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs. These tariffs impact global markets and business conditions.

Laurence Fishburne, best known for his iconic portrayal of Morpheus in The Matrix trilogy, has shared candid thoughts on why he was missing from The Matrix Resurrections. The 2021 sequel of the Matrix franchise excluded Fishburne during its release period, although he remained a prominent figure in previous films of the franchise. He described that the offer never reached him, even though he was ready to bring back Morpheus while waiting for the chance to return.

Honda will partner with US companies to test in orbit a renewable energy technology it hopes to one day deploy on the Moon's surface, the Japanese carmaker announced Friday. The auto giant is developing a mechanism capable of generating electricity and oxygen continuously — enabling astronauts to breathe — thanks to solar energy and water known to be present in some lunar soils. Now it plans to test this technology aboard the International Space Station, it said in a release, without giving a date. Honda already employs the system in its electric vehicles, and now wants to extend it to space to «to support life in space and on Earth.» «During the Lunar Day, the system will use electricity generated by the sun to power the process. Honda's high-differential pressure water electrolysis system will then produce hydrogen and oxygen from water,» it explained.

Volkswagen, the German automaker, has told its car dealers that it plans to add an import fee later this month to the price of imported cars sold in the United States. The company's move is one of the first and clearest examples of automakers using price increases to deal with the 25% tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on car and auto parts imports. The tariffs on vehicles went into effect Thursday, and the levies on parts will become effective May 3. In a Tuesday memo to dealers, Volkswagen said that the exact fees would be determined by the middle of April. The New York Times reviewed a copy of the memo. The automaker also told dealers it planned to cut back on sales incentives and had halted rail shipments of cars to the United States from its plants in Mexico, although shipments by sea continue. Volkswagen plans to hold cars that are subject to the tariffs in port for «the near term.» It also told dealers that the price of the Volkswagen Atlas sport utility vehicle, which is made in Chattanooga, Tennessee, could be affected by the tariffs because it includes important imported components. The extent of the impact most likely will not be known until May, the memo said. The automaker, including its Audi and Porsche brands, imports almost all the cars it sells in the United States. Besides the Atlas, Volkswagen also assembles the ID.4 electric sport-utility vehicle in Tennessee.

Donald Trump antagonised world leaders across the globe with his most extensive set of tariffs yet, he was scheduled to fly to Florida and potentially see the one leader he has called his «favourite president». That leader, President Javier Milei of Argentina, had flown overnight to receive an award Thursday at a right-wing gala at Mar-a-Lago. Trump was scheduled to also be there late Thursday — Milei said Trump would receive an award, too — and Milei said he hoped the two would meet. It was Milei's 10th trip to the US in 15 months as president, and nearly every time, he has met Trump or Elon Musk. Trump has posited that he is reshuffling US foreign policy strictly around what is good for the United States. So what can be puzzling about his elevation of Argentina to the front row of America's allies — Milei and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were the only world leaders onstage at Trump's inauguration — is that the chronically distressed South American nation is not particularly important as an economic or geopolitical partner. Instead, through Milei, Argentina has offered Trump something else he appears to crave: adoration. «I love him because he loves Trump,» Trump said of Milei in a speech last year. «Anybody that loves me, I like them.»

«The 'Pet Comfort' (feature) was a huge part of our decision,» Sjostrom says from his station on the outskirts of Minneapolis. «Now, I don't leave here without bringing her with me.» Almost all EVs now have some form of climate control that can be programmed to run when the machine is parked and driverless, another feature electric models can offer that internal combustion ones can't, like a front trunk or fueling at home. The temperature setting, which carmakers have been marketing for years, is now drawing a wide and specific demographic: the devoted dog owner. Lucid Group calls its feature «creature comfort mode,» which «has without a doubt been a great sales tool,» says spokesman Justin Berkowitz.

Lok Sabha adjourned sine die on Friday amid government-Opposition sparring, with Speaker Om Birla criticising Sonia Gandhi's statement that the Waqf Bill was «bulldozed through» even as the Congress leadership said it would petition the Supreme Court, questioning the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill passed by Parliament. The Congress floor leaders didn't attend the customary tea at the Speaker's chamber after the adjournment of the House. When the House commenced, the BJP benches protested against the statement Sonia Gandhi had made on Wednesday in her address to party MPs.